What Would You Know
by Ergo Ipso Facto
Summary: OLD. Don't judge me based on this fic. At night in Flanoir, Lloyd and Colette go out for a walk, leaving Zelos and Sheena alone in the inn. It only goes downhill from there.


**Author's note: **This is a revised version with an improved ending. Thanks to Rose-Wisteria for pointing out the problems with the old one.

**Couplings: **Implied Colloyd, one-sided Sheeloyd, one-sided Sheelos

**Rating: **PG-13 for… Okay, look, it's got Zelos in it. If you can't conceive of any reason why it might be rated PG-13, you are an idiot (uh, no offense to any idiot activist groups out there).

* * *

It was snowing. Not that that was much of a surprise, Sheena thought. This was Flanoir, after all. But the fact that the snow was expected didn't make it any less beautiful... She sighed, looking outside. The doctor, jerk that he was, had left for Altessa's house an hour earlier, along with Raine, Genis, Regal, and Presea. That left her, along with Lloyd and Colette, here in the inn. _Zelos, too,_ she added, grimacing distastefully. Still, she supposed she could overlook that. It was a quiet night, and the snow falling everywhere seemed almost magical.

_Heh, what am I thinking?_ She asked herself, smiling slightly. _That's not like me at all._ The Mizuho ninja stood, pacing the length of her room. What could be their final battle was fast approaching. She had mixed feelings about the whole thing, but she doubted any good would come of the Age of Lifeless beings. She would just have to trust that Lloyd would pull them through once again.

_Lloyd._ Embarrassingly enough, she found herself blushing at the thought of the young swordsman. _He_ was what she really needed to sort her feelings out about. Lloyd. It was no longer any use denying what she felt for him. He was such an idiot sometimes, but he had the best of intentions. He was so loyal, and so kind, so devoted to his friends. She knew he would be willing to do anything for her, anything at all… But it was, in all likelihood, entirely unromantic. He would do the same for any of his friends. She stopped pacing and stood by the window, gazing out into the clear Flanoir night. The sky was so black and the snow was so clean and white…

She had to talk to Lloyd; that much was clear. But what would she say? She couldn't very well go marching up and ask her if he was interested in her the same way she was in him. She honestly had no idea how she could tell him how she felt, but one thing was entirely clear. This time, she was not going to run away.

* * *

Watching the snow fall, Zelos couldn't help but think of that day in Meltokio, so many years ago. It had looked almost exactly like Flanoir did now. His life had been changed irreversibly that day, and it was more likely than not that it would be permanently changed again tomorrow. Then again, the day his mother died, there hadn't been this horrible feeling of impending doom. 

_That's kinda depressing,_ he thought. _Maybe I should go find myself some cute hunnies._ But… no. Not tonight, he realized. He had too much on his mind. Preoccupied as he was, he wouldn't be able to really enjoy himself as much as he should.

It would be nice to be taken seriously once in a while. This whole Chosen thing… _everything_ was a joke. _Well,_ he thought wryly, _they'll take me seriously tomorrow. They'll have to._ The next morning the group was going to the Tower of Salvation, and he knew what he had to do. It was inevitable. But for some reason it still bothered him. It was then and there that he decided he would have to go find Lloyd. To make amends in advance.

* * *

It was snowing, and it was _cold_! Colette grinned to herself. It had been a long time since she had been able to feel the cold. She looked out the window, remembering winters in Iselia, the snowball fights she'd had with Lloyd and Genis in years past. It had never snowed much, but when it had, everyone made a big to-do about it. She remembered how angry Raine had been when they had tracked snow into the classroom – but Raine wasn't here right now. Then again, neither was Genis. She wondered whether she could rope Sheena or Zelos into joining them – there was never any question as to what Lloyd's reaction to her little proposal would be. Sheena might be willing, she thought, but the other Chosen might not want to run the risk of messing up his hair. She giggled. Zelos could be such a _girl_ sometimes! 

Her mood turned more somber. Of course she wanted to have a snowball fight, but she had more serious things to talk to Lloyd about, too. She fingered the rabbit's foot she had purchased in the accessory shop earlier, wondering if Lloyd would think it was silly. The people of Flanoir seemed to put great stock in the trinket's ability to bring good luck, so she'd asked Genis to take one to Altessa just in case. No harm could really come from this particular superstition, so… why not?

She was skipping down the stairs to Lloyd's room before she knew it, humming to herself. She tucked the charm into her pocket and knocked on the door.

"Who is it? Come on in," Lloyd answered from within.

Colette opened the door and stepped inside. "Lloyd, did I wake you? It's snowing outside."

"I was wondering why it was so cold," he said, sounding a bit bemused.

"Yeah! It's _really_ cold!" she replied exuberantly.

"…You sure sound happy," he commented.

"Yeah, I mean, I can actually tell it's cold! I'm so happy!"

Realization dawned on him. "That's right, you couldn't feel things like that just a little while ago, huh?" he asked rhetorically.

"Say, Lloyd, if you don't mind the cold, do you want to go for a little walk?" She furtively checked to make sure she hadn't dropped the charm. That would never do. Lloyd barely completed forming the word "sure" before she grabbed his hand and skipped out again, dragging him after her.

* * *

Sheena stopped to collect her thoughts in front of Lloyd's door. _This is it, Sheena. You can do it,_ she told herself, just as Corrine would have. She took a deep breath, reached out and knocked twice. There was no answer. She knocked again. "Lloyd, you in there?" she called through the door. Still nothing. This wasn't like Lloyd. If he was in there, but didn't feel like talking, he would at least try to come up with some lame excuse. She tried the knob – it was unlocked. She opened the door and peered inside. "Lloyd?" The room was dark, and no one was there. "Damn," she muttered. It seemed like Colette had already absconded with him. All the planning and fretting had been for nothing. _Colette, I love you like a sister, but you _really _need to stop doing this…_

She leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. This wasn't right. To think that she might be falling for Lloyd! …No, she forced herself to admit, there was no "might" about it. She was becoming jealous of the amount of time the Chosen of Sylvarant managed to spend alone with Lloyd. She sighed. This had to stop.

She didn't know how long she sat staring at the floor, but when, on a sudden impulse, she looked up, it was into the face of the last person she wanted to see.

"Yo, Sheena!" When she didn't answer immediately, Zelos smirked, though he sighed inwardly. He'd hoped that just for one night, a night that could be his last, he could drop this stupid charade. But he knew what was expected of him and wasn't going to disappoint. "You look happy to see me."

"Go away, Zelos," Sheena replied listlessly.

"Hey, hunny, don't be like that!"

"I'm not your hunny," was her icy retort.

Zelos was unfazed. "Is Lloyd around?"

"No." She stood and made her way towards the stairs, brushing past the Chosen as if he simply weren't there.

But he would have none of that. He grabbed her by the arm. "Whoa, whoa, wait! What were you bumming around Lloyd's room for, anyway?"

She wrenched her arm out of his grasp. "Why are _you_ looking for him?" she shot back.

"Nothing!" Zelos replied, a little too quickly. The summoner gave him a flat stare. "…Well, he's my bud, you know. We're tight like that." Sheena plainly still wasn't buying it. "And, y'know, cute hunnies always gather around Lloyd. I thought, wherever he is, I'll find one!"

She snorted, continuing up the stairs. "I'm going to bed. Don't follow me." She paused. "And I'm going to sleep in my regular clothes. You won'tget to see me undress, no matter how hard you try." Upon reaching the door to her room, she turned. Zelos was right behind her. She sighed; she'd expected as much. "Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood."

"Wow, you haven't hit me yet. Something _must_ be up," Zelos mused.

Sheena halfheartedly punched his arm. "Happy now?"

"You know I hate seeing my hunnies all depressed…"

"I'm _not_ one of your groupies!" she shouted, flinging the door open. She stormed in and slammed it behind her, and he could hear the deadbolt turning.

"Yelling and door-slamming," he commented. "That's more like it." He leaned back against her door. He might be here awhile.

"Go away!"

"Aw, you're making me sad," he teased.

"What are you gonna do, cry?" she snapped.

"Maybe," he replied cheerily.

"I… I hate you!" Sheena fumed.

_Do you really?_ Zelos wondered morosely, toying with a strand of his long crimson hair. A long silence stretched between them.

"You're still there, aren't you?" Sheena asked finally.

"Huh, what? I fell asleep," he lied, faking a yawn.

"Idiot Chosen," she muttered, padding barefoot to the door. She unlocked it, and Zelos very nearly fell in on top of her when she opened it.

"Hey, Sheena! Had a sudden change of heart?" he asked brightly.

"You wish." She paused. "But I guess it's better if you come in here where I can keep an eye on you. I don't want to know what kind of trouble you'd cause if I just let you run rampant."

Zelos beamed. "Aw, hunny, I _knew_ you loved me!" She backhanded him across the face in reply. "Ow, what was that for?" She simply glared at him. "If those aren't mixed messages you're sending, I don't know what are!"

"Tough."

Zelos flopped down on her bed. "_So_…" he said, dragging the word out.

"Get off my bed!"

"Why, Sheena?" He grinned, patting the mattress next to him. "There's plenty of room for both of us."

She yanked the pillow out from under is head and clobbered him with it. "Keep the stupid bed, you pervert!"

"Jeez, are you sadistic or something? You get off on hurting people?" The Chosen demanded, covering his head. "But oh, man, with a body like that, you can hurt me any time you want," he added under his breath.

Sheena slammed the pillow down over his face, pinning it down with both arms. "Say 'uncle.'"

"MMNPH!" She couldn't tell whether or not he'd actually said "uncle," but either way, she thought better of suffocating him. She removed the pillow, eyed narrowed. He lay staring up at her, gasping for breath and muttering something along the lines of "psycho homicidal ninja witch…" She brandished the pillow. He flinched.

"Now," she said in a no-nonsense voice, "is there any reason why you followed me and won't leave? …Other than your usual?" she added hastily when she saw him about to speak.

He responded with a complete non sequitur, but one that was unfortunately all too characteristic of him. "Y'know, this is kinda kinky, with you standing over me and all."

She hit him with the pillow again. "Are you _trying_ to die?" she shouted. He didn't answer. "Well?" He suddenly stood and walked over to the window. "Hey, I'm talking to you…!" He still made no response. Sheena approached him slowly. "…Zelos?" He was staring out at the city below, a distant look in his eyes, his features written with an expression she'd never seen on him before and couldn't identify. She tentatively reached out a hand to touch his shoulder and shook him gently. "Anyone in there?"

He knew what he had to do. He forced a smile. "Faked you out!" He exclaimed gleefully. Sheena stared at him, fists clenching at her sides. "Oh, were you worried, hunny? That's so _sweet_!"

She slapped him. "You –! How can you play with people like that?" He'd managed to throw her off, all right. People were all too willing to expect the worst of him.

"You're so abusive! M…my beautiful face…"

"All you ever think about is yourself!" Sheena huffed. "I'll be glad when this is over and I don't have to put up with you anymore!"

"When this is over…" he repeated, the same distant expression flickering briefly across his face.

"What's gotten into you tonight?" the summoner asked, perplexed.

He snapped out of it instantly. "What? Me? Nothing. Hey, I think I see Lloyd and Colette out there!"

"Liar. You're not going to distract me that easily," Sheena informed him flatly.

"No, really, I do," Zelos insisted, pointing. "Out there, on the terrace."

Sheena followed his finger. Lloyd and Colette were, indeed, out there… Getting quite comfy together, too, from the look of it. She turned away. _Dammit_.

"Hey, what's with that look? You still have a thing for Lloyd or something?" Zelos inquired, curious.

"That's none of your business!" she snapped, then after a moment's silence, hesitantly spoke up again. "If… Supposing I was to say yes, would you leave me alone?"

"No," he replied matter-of-factly, grinning. "I can't allow beauty like yours to go unnoticed!"

"_Unnoticed_?" The ninja repeated, incredulous. "If this is your idea of 'noticing' me, then stop!"

"What, does it bother you?"

"Hell yes, it bothers me to be treated like an object, you… you chauvinist pig!"

Someone's _been listening to Raine too much,_ Zelos thought, a bit taken aback at this sudden outburst. All the other women he'd come across had enjoyed being hit on. Of course he just _happened_ to be traveling with the only two who didn't.

"Lloyd… Lloyd doesn't treat me like that," Sheena continued. "He treats me just the same as he does everyone else – with respect. And I know he'll always be there willing to help out if things turn tough."

"Bulls-eye," Zelos muttered.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, fixing him with an aggressive glare.

"What do you think it means, Sheena? Use your head for a minute here. And, you know, just for you, I think I won't say anything about the size of your chest this time," he added generously.

She reached for the pillow again, but he snatched it away at the last second and held it behind his back. "You're impossible!" a frustrated Sheena declared.

_Only because that's what you expect me to be. _"Hunny, it's okay to get distracted by my sheer sexiness from time to time, but I _did_ ask you a question," he pointed out after a brief pause. Predictably, she delivered him another full-handed slap. "Ow, hey, you don't have to take it out on me!"

"If you were in my place, I think you'd forgive me," she informed him acidly.

"Beating me up and not even answering a simple question in exchange? You're so mean," Zelos pouted, trying to steer the conversation back around. He really would like to leave this room in one piece, but some things were just worth knowing.

"W-what question?" she feigned ignorance, trying (and failing) to conceal her growing discomfort. The Chosen gestured grandly at the figures of Lloyd and Colette, still outside in the snow – and even closer than before. Sheena fumed. _How _could_ they?_ "I… I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb, hunny. You _know_ you'll never beat Lloyd in that field."

"Don't make fun of Lloyd!" she shouted. Then, to fill the impending awkward silence, she spoke up again, in a quieter but scarcely less fervent voice. "He's been through a lot, okay? I mean, last night, for crying out loud! Finding out that his father is _Kratos_! But you don't hear Lloyd complaining!" Though she was unaware of it, her voice was rising again. "He's gotten us this far. He's really doing his best! And I mean, it's probably because of him that we're all willing to put up with you! He's out there giving it his all, and you have the nerve to call him _stupid_?" Her voice rose to an almost shrill pitch on the final word. Zelos winced, covering his ears. However, in doing so, he made the mistake of dropping the pillow, which Sheena snatched up and hit him with yet again. "Got anything to say for yourself?"

Zelos began pacing back and forth. "I recognize the signs," he said with a self-satisfied smirk. "Our Violent Demonic Banshee is still into Lloyd after all."

Sheena turned red. "You're just guessing!"

"If I was wrong, you would've hit me for assuming things."  
"You don't know that!"

Unable to think of anything else to say, Zelos responded with the standard childish "Or _do_ I?"

"Well, I… I mean, yes. Yes, okay, I like Lloyd. What's it to you?" Sheena snapped.

"Well, now that you're not in denial anymore, you're much less likely to be violent about it!" he said happily. "Don't you feel better already?" _Because I sure don't…_

"I can't believe you!" Sheena cried. "Something serious like this and all you can think of is how likely I am to get _violent_?"  
"Well, you hitting me is a pretty important issue in _my_ mind, at least," he remarked.

The summoner groaned, putting a hand to her face. "Why do I talk to you, anyway? This is all obviously going way over your head." She looked glumly out the window at Lloyd and Colette. "I hope they're happy," she said softly.

Zelos broke the silence. "I think I know what you're saying."

Sheena turned to face him. "No you don't. You can't possibly." She rested her hand on the windowpane, leaving fingerprints in the frost. "Liking someone… no, I think I'm falling in _love_ with Lloyd! …And not knowing if they return it… Wanting what you can't have… What would you know about that?" She let her hand slide down the smooth glass, blurring the fingerprints into long trails of rime-free surface.

He knew Sheena. She wouldn't use the word "love" lightly. But the truth of the matter was that she just had – in reference to Lloyd, no less. That _stung_. "Well, maybe, just _maybe_, being the Chosen isn't all it's cracked up to be," he said cautiously. "What would you know about that?"

"You don't even have to ask to get your every wish delivered gift-wrapped to your doorstep. Every girl you've ever been interested in has been willing to drop everything and have sex with you at a moment's notice. And you're complaining?" She shook her head. "No, Zelos. I know _exactly_ what your life must be like. And you're in no position to talk like that." She looked toward the window again, and there was another interminable silence.

"…I'm going for a walk," Sheena announced abruptly, and simply walked out. Her footsteps receded down the hall, and as Zelos heard her descending the stairs, he wore a self-mocking little smile.

"What would I know…?"


End file.
